"I mean, it sucks," Smith said. "I don't know what else to say. "I feel like the only thing I did to lose my job was get a concussion."

Smith was knocked out in the first quarter of the 49ers Nov. 11 game against the Rams, and diagnosed with a concussion. In his absence, he lost his starting job to second-year backup Kaepernick, despite producing a 19-5-1 record since Harbaugh was hired in 2011.

Smith went on to say that he does not regret telling doctors that he had blurred vision and other concussion symptoms.

"No, I'm not looking back on that -- no, no."

Does he think his demotion will cause other players to conceal concussion symptoms?

"I don't know. It's a good question. I'm not sure. I mean, that's kind of the deal with all injuries. The thing with the concussions and the brain, I think we're going to be finding out a lot more in the years to come."